Traditional investment managers typically buy financial instruments such as stocks or bonds and hold them in the expectation that the price of these assets will rise.

This strategy is known as being ‘long only’ which means that the value of the portfolio can only rise when the value of the assets, for example stocks or bonds, rise.

Historically, traditional investment managers have been highly regulated because they target a broad investing public. This means that traditional investment managers must invest according to prudent guidelines as directed by the regulatory authority. Highly regulated traditional investments include mutual funds for example and these are generally available for all types of investors.